Once people were able to return home, those that didn't lose their homes, there were 3 more evacuations before the fires were put out or moved on.
Bermagui, NSW
I live outside Bermagui on the South Coast of nSW.
On Dec 31,2019 we had to evacuate into Bermagui at 5am.There we met friends from Cobargo who’d driven through fire to get to Bermagui.
We ended up being sent to Bega as Bermagui lost power, telecommunications, police and firemen.
Bega is in a valley and was filled with heavy smoke as the fires surrounded the town. The evacuation site had 3 toilets for women and 3 for men. There were 500 people there for 5 days sleeping in their cars, or tents and some inside the hall.
Once the road to Canberra was open, meaning the fires had swept past them, people took off, as the food supplies had dwindled as trucks couldn’t replenish them. It was bumper to bumper traffic and the 3 hour trip took 8 hours.
Canberra also filled with smoke.
Once people were able to return home, those that didn’t lose their homes, there were 3 more evacuations before the fires were put out or moved on.
What has happened to prepare us for the next drought and bushfire season?
We are still with nowhere to run to, no escape.
People who lost their homes are still living in caravans. 5 men have died from the trauma of losing everything and trying to “keep it together and be strong”.
We need to stop building new coal plants.
We need to get into renewables NOW.
The next time we have these major bushfires people won’t be so generous.There might not be donations of caravans….as they’ve all been given to fire and flood victims.
DO SOMETHING. MAKE THE RULES FOR THOSE REBUILDING EASIER
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